Doctors say no brain activity, family refuses to give up

AS Rockhampton's Daphnejean Finnegan strokes the head of her son, she knows one of the toughest decisions of her life is coming.

Daphnejean is living every mother's worst nightmare.

Her son Jamie Manuele has been stuck in a hospital bed since August, after he suffered swelling to his brain.

After months of tending to his every need, she now has three options for Jamie's future.

Daphnejean said she had been told by doctors that Jamie is brain-dead, leaving her with the options to transfer him to a brain injury centre in Brisbane, pay to keep him in a room in the Rockhampton Hospital, or take him home.

She said she could not bear to send her son away to Brisbane, but the family could not afford the long-term cost of keeping him in the Rockhampton Hospital.

In an ideal world, Daphnejean would bring her son home and care for him, but she does not have the equipment or training to go down that path just yet.

Jamie still needs feeding tubes in hospital.

But Daphnejean won't let doctors tell her that Jamie has no brain activity.

Jamie Manuele:

She said her son proved them wrong on a daily basis.

"I know he's not brain-dead," Daphnejean said. "He's got a wake-sleep cycle and he's said hello to us. I've helped him eat and sip a drink every day since last week."